How Not to Say What You Mean
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is indicative only and does not represent the condition of this copy. For information about the condition of this book you can email us.
This re-named edition of "A Dictionary of Euphemisms" is full of old favourites, such as "early bath" or "push up the daisies", as well as euphemisms from modern times, like "human sacrifice" and "coffee-housing". Definitions include examples from real authors, along with historical explanations of origins, and now obsolete euphemisms like "leaping house", "nightingale" are signposted as such. To prove that the use of euphemisms is not just a British speciality, there is widespread coverage of American euphemisms too: "English" (pertaining to sexual deviance), and "watermelon" (an indication of pregnancy) are two examples.
Author: R.W. Holder
Format: Hardback, 528 pages
Published: 2002, Oxford University Press, United Kingdom
Genre: Humour: Collections & General
Description
This re-named edition of "A Dictionary of Euphemisms" is full of old favourites, such as "early bath" or "push up the daisies", as well as euphemisms from modern times, like "human sacrifice" and "coffee-housing". Definitions include examples from real authors, along with historical explanations of origins, and now obsolete euphemisms like "leaping house", "nightingale" are signposted as such. To prove that the use of euphemisms is not just a British speciality, there is widespread coverage of American euphemisms too: "English" (pertaining to sexual deviance), and "watermelon" (an indication of pregnancy) are two examples.
How Not to Say What You Mean